How to Create a First Aid Kit for Your Car (or Diaper Bag)

The sound of crashing waves. Children squealing with delight as they explored tidepools. The summer heat offset by the cool breeze coming off of the ocean. It was one of those perfect summer days in the Pacific Northwest that embody everything I love about our little corner of earth. Until Mordecai came limping over, complaining that he had something stuck in his toe.

Closer examination revealed a seashell.

Yes, he had a tiny seashell embedded in his toe.

A tiny Sea Creature Sliver.

That puppy was embedded so deep, Blackbeard himself wouldn’t have been able to dig up that treasure. The good news? My friend Carolynn said she had tweezers in her car. The bad news? We had walked about a quarter of a mile to find this little spot of beach. We sent a couple of boys back to the car on a rescue mission and when they returned, tweezers in hand, I dug the shell out.

It was not our best day at the beach.

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But that day, I decided, precision tweezers would be packed in my diaper bag/backpack or whatever I was carrying. Such a simple thing. They are cheap, small, and easy to carry. So why had it taken me so many years to realize this is a must when adventuring with kids?

First Aid Kits Can Be Cute and Frugal

Thankfully, first aid kits can be both cute and frugal. Now, you know why I think having a first aid kid is important with kids, now you get to see what inspired the cute DIY first aid kits I now keep on hand.

These cute little first aid kids were inspired completely by an ad I saw for Welly bandaids. I mean, seriously, bandaids with alpacas? And little fruits and vegetables? And narwhals and sloths? As soon as I saw these, I clicked over to the website and got lost in a sea of adorable bandaids.

(Weird, I know, but I’m 45…and apparently this is what I do for fun)

When I saw they had Welly first aid kits, I was going to buy one, but couldn’t find exactly what I wanted…so I decided to order the bandaids and put together my own first aid kit. Amazon actually has a large selection of Welly bandages…I ordered the alpaca set from there but had to get the Handy Bandy (veggie) ones from the Welly site.

What You Need to Include in Your First Aid Kit

Single Dose Medicines

Now, obviously, we don’t normally buy our medicine like this. It is impractical, expensive, and wasteful. But they are perfect for assembling travel first aid kits. I ordered this pack here which includes aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, anti-diarrheal medicine, an antacid, and an antihistamine. I put two of each in each first aid kit.

Antibiotic Ointment

These individually wrapped packages of antibiotic ointment are a must for first aid kits. We have a tube of this for the house, but this is so much more sanitary for adventuring away from home.

Burn Cream with Lidocaine

This burn cream is an absolute must! It contains lidocaine, which is a topical numbing agent. This will offer pain relief for minor burns. We keep a tube of it at home, but I use these single-use packets for our travel first aid kits.

Sting Relief Swabs

If you or your child has ever disturbed a wasps nest or been chased up a hill and into the house by a swarm of angry yellow jackets, you will understand just how important sting relief swabs are.

Alcohol Swabs

These are, obviously, a no-brainer.

Steri-strips

Steri-strips have eliminated the need for stitches many times in our house…which is rather remarkable since, even with steri-strips on hand, my children have needed dozens of stitches. But seriously, stitches can be avoided on many gaping wounds with a steri-strip or two.

Precision Tweezers

I already explained early just why exactly precision tweezers are needed. I cannot recommend this brand of precision tweezers enough. The sharp pointed tips are perfect for any needed digging or poking, and they are made from sturdy polished stainless steel.

Welly Bandages

You already know I am a fan of the Welly bandages because they are so darn cute. When Chuck saw the package he said, “um, now we’re ordering bandaids on line?”

And I said, “Yes. Yes, we are”.

Sometimes cute kiwi fruits, narwhals, sloths, and strawberries trump everything else.

Assembling the Cutest First Aid Kit Ever

These cute tin containers from Welly are perfect for my little travel first aid kits. I started by pulling the adorable bandages out of the containers. As you can see they both had dividers in them, which I used to keep my first aid supplies separate and tidy.

I was able to easily keep all of the supplies about (plus more adhesive bandages than pictured) into my metal Welly containers.

As you can see, everything fit in the little Welly container nice and neat!

And now, one is in my Mini Cooper (a cute first aid kit for a cute care) and the other resides in my trusty backpack.

Don’t you just love it when minimalism, function, and design all come together into something completely practical?

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